Tag: Agee

April 8, 2000

Philip Agee

I despise what Philip Agee did with this book, endangering the lives of real people and violating his oath as a commissioned officer in the clandestine service. I was also very surprised by the level of detail in the book, and concluded that he intended to betray the CIA well prior to leaving. I've served three overseas tours and three Washington assignments, and from all that time I can barely remember one cryptonym series and not a single true identity. I think Agee took notes and planned ahead to burn the CIA. This is a good diary, and I include it in this bibliography to represent the pedestrian side of the DO-the day to day monotony of going through the motions and doing agent recruitments and agent handling operations in third world countries where the bulk of what one does really does not contribute to U.S. national security or understanding.

Edit of 11 Jan 08 to add comment and links.

Comment: I am committed to reducing the secret budget from $60 billion a year to $12 billion, and the heavy metal military budget from $950 billion to $250 billion, with the savings directed toward waging peace and offering free education in all languages via free cell phones, the only way we will be able to create a prosperous world at peace.

Other links:
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion
Web of Deceit: The History of Western complicity in Iraq, from Churchill to Kennedy to George W. Bush
None So Blind: A Personal Account of the Intelligence Failure in Vietnam
See No Evil
Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA, Fourth Edition

Edit of 12 Apr 09 to add three more links
Who the Hell Are We Fighting?: The Story of Sam Adams and the Vietnam Intelligence Wars
The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political–Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace